Whitehall Forest GPS Test Site
The Whitehall Forest GPS Test Site was developed in 2004. The positions of a set of nearby established survey monuments were determined using a survey-grade GPS receiver (Ashtech Locus GPS) according to protocols (static data, 4 hours of data collection, etc.) that would allow the positions to be considered and accepted by the National Spatial Reference System (NSRS). The positions of the monuments were processed using the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Online Positioning User Service (OPUS) (www.ngs.noaa.gov/OPUS). The positional precision of these monuments was less than 2 cm. The closed traverse network that represents the Whitehall Forest GPS Test Site corners was then established by registered surveyors using a Topcon GTS-211D instrument and the NSRS monuments as a base. The closure of the points within the Test Site (as represented by a closed traverse connecting the points) was estimated to be 1/92,137. Given this, we consider the GPS Test Site to be a highly accurate model around which GPS equipment could be tested in forested conditions.
